Tag: day of week

Already released as the Japanese Domestic Market (ah, that legendary 'JDM' abbreviation that's been rice-rocket freaks' and watch aficionados' darling for so many decades!) models, the new Seiko Prospex Diver Scuba Giugiaro Design Limited Edition (available as refs. SBEE001 & SBEE002) is an almost perfect re-issue of the wristwatch from the 1980s that had a great potential, but for some reason failed to become an icon of industrial design. Well, I can only welcome the Japanese brand's decision to give the collection a second chance, even as only a limited edition model.

The new Hamilton Broadway Day Date Automatic (refs. H43515735 & H43515135) wristwatch, the Swiss brand's recent attempt at grabbing their own share of a growing "affordable dress watch" market, offers a nice blend of interesting exterior, good build quality and one of the best "long-play" mass-produced automatic movements that you can get in the sub-$1k price range. Unexpectedly elegant and amazingly refined, right now this may be one of the best choices for the money.

The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Calendar Meteorite (refs. Q1558421 & Q1552540) features the same well-known dial layout spiced with a nice-looking dial plate cut from a meteorite. Although the material is not terribly rare (eBay is full with all sorts of celestial stones), it usually takes a very skilled artisan to cut the stone at an angle that allows it to truly shine. Also, there is a great deal of wealthy persons fed up with the usual enameled or engine-turned dials that usually accompany dressy timekeepers. This gorgeous new model seems to be designed with the nerds in mind: the sort of guys that made their fortune not selling oil, or diamonds, or other raw materials, but offering the crowd software that actually makes their life a lot easier.

The Japanese watchmaker has fairly recently presented a line of affordable dress watches. Coming in different color variations and featuring both stainless steel and gold-toned bodies, the new Seiko Recraft collection comes in an unexpectedly finely crafted (albeit, a bit too oversized) case and is powered by an in-house Caliber 7S26 self-winding movement: the same inexpensive, but bullet-proof job that also animated their well-known Seiko SKX781 Orange Monster diving watch.

Believe it or not, but, contrary to popular beliefs, not all Breitlings do look the same. This new Breitling Galactic 44 (the ref. A45320B9/BD42-101W reviewed here and other models), for example, features a very unusual (for the Swiss-based brand) combination of an elegantly sculpted body that looks more slender that it actually is, a remarkable set of crown-guards, and a relatively thin bezel that still displays all the relevant information for either an amateur diver or a professional pilot. Perhaps, the only thing that it needs is the usual notches that were apparently dropped here in order for its polished surface to better match that of the case. Well, nothing is perfect.

The new Fortis Blue Horizon features a very appealing color scheme with its bronze-toned dial (that the brand actually prefers to call "Metallic Brown") nicely matched by a cognac brown leather strap. Although the blue accents on the timekeeper's face look a bit ahem controversial, I must admit that this is one of the dressiest "pilot's chronographs" that the Swiss brand has ever produced. Just don't forget to get yourself a complementary set of good brown shoes.

While the new Fortis VP-40 "Laging Handa" Patrol Squadron Forty automatic chronograph wristwatch doesn't even try to look different from dozens of other Fortis aviation-inspired chronos, it still offers a very nice combination of a solid-built body with pleasantly massive push-pieces and setting crown, and a dial that, although looking a bit cluttered, nevertheless easy enough to read (only if you don't try to use the standard tachymeter scale on the bezel flange).

The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Day Date (ref. 01 752 7698 4164-07 5 22 17FC) wristwatch combines a vintage modern (I hope, Marshall Amps won't mind me using the combination of words) design of its moderately oversized stainless steel body with an inexpensive self-winding movement with day/date display that they outsource from the Swiss based ebauche maker Sellita. Easily readable and comfortable thanks to its ergonomically shaped case and a nicely designed folding clasp, the watch is priced at just over €1300, but seems to deliver a lot more value than most similarly priced timekeepers with the same functionality.